You know what I dread most about writing a piece? Not pitching, not finding the idea, not trying to find the right market (though this can be a pain sometimes).

It’s research. Probably almost as much as the waiting to hear back from an editor and getting rejected.

Why?

Because just like those two, it’s kind of out of my hands.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m lazy. I’m not.

But there is a lot about research that is out of my hands, like:

how fast the Internet will work that day

waiting to hear from resources. (Because as writers, we just love to wait, don’t we?)

fidgeting over whether the experts I reached out to will be happy to hear from me or be pissed because I bothered them.

how on earth will I find something that specific

how many people can I reach on my own to conduct an informal research

…

To the seasoned reporter, these might seem ridiculous. Or maybe, things they consider for a second and shrug off. But I’m not a seasoned reporter. I’m not even a reporter.

I’m just a writer who’s trying to break into newer, more established markets by trying to improve her reporting skills, and wooing her editors in the process.

Now, I’ll probably never write a piece solely based on reporting, and I’m fine with that.

But developing my research skills as well as getting over my fears, anxieties and pet peeves over reaching out to strangers – I’m already reaching out quite frequently to friends, but worry not, I’m equally helpful – is essential. It will make my idea development and pitching more solid. It will make my queries more irresistible, and my pieces more informative. I might be a tad arrogant as I believe I’ve got the entertaining part down, more or less.

Maybe it’s because I already got to do too much research in uni. You see, I have double-majored in five years. (It’d be four, but I spent 9 months abroad because, hello, who doesn’t want to take 9 months abroad?)

I had like 9 classes from my second year every term. No place for electives, because I had to take all the core courses of my two majors, Business and Advertising.

There was a lot of paper-writing going on, not to mention the time spent on figuring out the stifling academic format. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed working on my thesis (a shout-out to my advisor and favorite teacher here). I specifically chose a course where I would write a thesis so that I wouldn’t take tests or work on group projects. I know, I’m such a writer.

But seriously…I didn’t like research that much even then, mainly because it was so easy to get lost in it.

So in addition to reading up on how to get more efficient – yes, there are articles on this too; you’ve got to love the information age – I decided to create a Facebook group for writers where they can help each other with all parts of creating non-fiction: finding resources, experts, asking for quotes, including asking each other for relevant experiences and information.

If you are a writer having trouble with coming with ideas and/or pitching, I can help you with that. It’s one of the services I provide to fellow writers and bloggers.

If you’re struggling to find the right market for your idea, I recommend the big list on Beyond Your Blog, or their submission services.

But if it’s research you’re struggling with, any aspect of it, then just ask to join Writers Helping Writers. I’m the admin, and pretty much the only rule is to be nice and friendly.

I haven’t updated my blog for a while. And when I disappear (from the blog) for that long, usually something is up. This time is no different

I want to move abroad, specifically to Vancouver, Canada. And no, it’s not because I’m an American and I’m running because of a scary but possible Donald Trump presidency. Although I’m scared of Donald winning, I have more pressing issues to deal with.

In between juggling writing assignments and editing my fiction, I thought I at least knew where my life was headed. I applied to a good master’s program in Vancouver at a school I could afford. They didn’t specify a reason for their rejection.

Now, I’m used to rejection. I get rejected as a writer. I move on and write pieces on how to deal with it because for the most time, it’s easy to move on.

But this time, I let it get it to me. It created a lot of questions. I always meant what I said about plans B,C,D and all the way to the Z in case plan A failed, but this time it took a while to get back to work:

I wasn’t sure where to start, and to add more confusion to overwhelm:

I had to stop working with several ongoing clients. (Either the projects ended, or their demands changed significantly). My income took a loss.

I caught a cold, which often can trigger a depressed state (why this happens is the subject of another personal essay entirely).

And there’s a constant new tragedy in the world that affects you one way or the other.

I’ve been wanting to leave for a long time, but I’ve been adamant that not just any place will do. I want better conditions and not worse. I want to speak the language of the country, or at least know something about the culture & language . The countries I want to move to aren’t that thrilled to have freelance writers with unimpressive bank accounts, which ironically gets emptier with all the things one might have to do to deal with visa procedures.

The bank account does suffer from the feast or famine syndrome because I refuse to write about things I am not interested in, and I also have three separate fiction projects I’m trying to get off the ground.

But I’m back, and I’ll hopefully have a great April. March wasn’t kind.

Today’s post is another great author and blogger interview. Yvette Carol is a good friend of mine from New Zealand, and she was kind enough to share her experiences about her writing and self-publishing.

Enjoy!

Yvette Carol

Can you tell us about yourself and your writing?

Hi, Pinar!

Yes, thank you for asking, and thanks for this opportunity. I write for fantasy fiction for the ‘tween reader, the 9 – 13-year-old

How long did it take you to complete your book?

It is a little hard for me to answer that question, as The Chronicles of Aden Weaver series started out life as a single volume in 2005. However, along the way, it got chopped into three stories, and the first book, ‘The Or’in of Tane Mahuta’ has been my work-in-progress as a single entity for probably the last five years or more.

Why did you take the self-publishing route?

When I was younger I did a lot of submitting to publishing houses and contests and the like. As I said in the speech at my book launch a month ago, ‘I set a glass ceiling for myself, that I would get that traditional book deal.’

Now that I’m older, the clock is ticking, there is no more time for waiting. I see other authors being intrepid and beating the Indie path and I hear the positive feedback returning from the front line, and my views are changing. I’ve stopped seeing the traditional book deal as the ultimate prize.

To my surprise, when I did let go of the trad. Publishing route idea, it was an instant relief. I’m not a gal who handles competition and the pressure of submitting and being rejected very well.

Also, it felt empowering. I was so glad to finally at last take up the reigns fully into my own hands and accept full responsibility for my “creative intelligence” and to own rights to my own work and success.

Which company did you use, which services did they offer, and how much did it cost you?

Carol J. Amato, of Stargazer Publishing, was the proof-reader I hired first, as she came highly recommended by my friend, author, Maria Cisneros-Toth. I spent the best part of a thousand dollars on this stage but then the exchange is brutal from the New Zealand end. Friends have recommended two kiwi proof-readers since then. For the second round of editing by a professional, I chose a local business called ProofPal. I highly recommend Katrien’s services. She was punctual and thorough. Nevertheless, it would seem $1000 is the going price for editing services on a full 60,000+ word manuscript, as in the end, I spent more or less the same amount.

Who did your cover for you?

People keep asking me about the cover art. Well they should do. I love it!

Once I had taken on the mantle of publisher, I began some serious investigating into the different options available today for digital online cover artists, many I found through Facebook. The going rate for that seemed to be from $5 – $400.

I had gone to various people asking questions. I really wanted to feel confident of the jacket. My story while set in the wilds of the planet Chiron is in reality based on earth, and while a story about shape-shifters in a time many centuries ago, reflects who we are today in a lot of ways. The cultures depicted are at once advanced and yet simple. It is a complex world and I felt the cover needed to be created with great care and precision. Let us just say it was not a book that could have stock art on the cover.

Luckily, I had the courage to throw caution to the wind and ask my nephew. Simon used to be a gifted artist in his youth, yet had not done any art since he left school. I asked would he create an image for the cover. He said yes. The rest is history!

Next, I hired the services of the guys at local printing outfit, BookPrint to do the formatting and layout.

Tim gave me files ready for upload onto CreateSpace and the Mobi file for Kindle Direct. These guys did a superb job with the digital side of things and everyone said the paperback they produced was top quality also. So a big “thumbs-up” for them!

Do you recommend them to other writers?

Yes, definitely!

How are you marketing your book?

Between the kids and Christmas, I haven’t yet found the time to do the marketing. I made a comprehensive list and have failed to do any of it. Today, I attempted to get an “Author Page” on Goodreads, and that’s the extent of my marketing so far. However, this is one of three posts which blogging friends have offered to post for me, so I guess I’m taking steps in the right direction at last.

One of my writing mentors, Bob Mayer once said, ‘Focus on craft; not marketing and promotion. You can’t promote crap. The best marketing is a good story; better marketing is more good stories.’ I, too, adhere to this approach!

Do you have tips for writers who can’t decide between self-publishing and traditional publishing?

Yes. One of the successful kiwi authors I admire and now also call a friend, Donna Blaber, had some sage words on this very topic. She’s had thirty or so books published, traditionally. She published her last book herself.

Donna told me, “Now, that I’ve self-pubbed once, I’m never going back. With trad. Publishing, someone takes their bite of the pie all the way down the line, until there’s nothing left and they haven’t done anything! Whereas, when you publish yourself, all the profit is yours.”

Also from the amazing Bob Mayer again. “The gatekeepers are readers. While traditional publishing is still a viable path, they no longer control distribution. This is such a fundamental change in the business paradigm, I truly believe very few people grasp the implications. New York is hanging on to its antiquated business model instead of embracing change.”

Writer and writing coach Angela Booth mentions in one of her free e-books (I think it was called Blogging for Dollars) where a client of hers mentioned she was looking for an agent. Lo and behold, the agent found her through the description of her work online.

(I also reached out to Miles Klee to find out if he found the new agent he was looking for via his TUMBLR blog. I’ll update if I get an answer.)

Established writer and coach Marilyn Horowitz also encourages you talk about your writing and keeping a presence online.

So why not?
There are no guarantees. In fact, it probably won’t work. I. And yet, here I roll:

1 novel, 1 one-hour TV drama pilot, 1 feature drama

– They are low(er) budget, mainstream yet different enough. And they are similar in genre(s), even though the weight of romance, comedy and drama differs.

So I won’t be pissing off any producer or agent by saying I have one period drama, one CGI-heavy sci-fi and one gory horror. (Although I don’t promise never to write these, except from the gory horror.)

– I’ve a niche. I’ve specialized. I’ve been doing this for a while.

– None of the (manu)scripts are their first (or fourth, for that matter) drafts.

And they will each get their individual posts, detailing each project without spoiling anything. I have query letters and synopses for that (you know, those thing where you actually have to give away the ending and twists and all.)

– Oh, and the best of all, their medium can be easily converted into another.

My novel would work as a script, and my scripts could be turned into a novel.